


Merry Christmas, Love

by orphan_account



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M, Merry Christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2014-12-03
Packaged: 2018-02-27 23:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2709875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shintaro invites Kazunari over for Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Merry Christmas, Love

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This is an original write that I'm really proud of. The ending is pretty stupid but the beginning and middle are good!  
> Also, ignore the varying spellings of 'Kazunari' and 'Kuzanari'. I realized as I was going through that a few times I varied the spelling.  
> Anyways, enjoy~!  
> ~Kurokocchi

Kazunari really hadn't celebrated Christmas much. His parents were out of town often and even if they were back for Christmas, they never had enough money for gifts. They barely even had enough for their run-down apartment that shut off the heat at night in winter.

So, naturally, when Shintaro invited him to a Christmas dinner with his family, he'd been skeptical. "I dunno, Shin-chan," he mumbled, rubbing his hands together and trying to warm them up with his hands. The heat had only just shut off in his apartment, but the cold had already started creeping inside.

"Please," Shintaro murmured, and the begging side of the green-haired man emerged once more. Not that it happened often. Kazunari had to take his chance to absorb begging Shin-chan whenever he made a guest appearance. Shintaro slung his arm over Kazunari's shoulder, holding him closer under their makeshift blanket that only covered half of each of them. Kazunari pretended to take his precious time thinking about it.

"It does sound nice," Kazunari began, "but..."

The 'but' that came from Kazunari's lips made the slowly growing smile on Midorima's lips disappear. "But what?" he asked, almost annoyed.

"But I don't know your family! Plus I wouldn't be able to afford a gift for them, or..." and so Kazunari went down the list of ever-growing fears and embarrassments that could possibly happen if he attended a Christmas dinner. Shintaro patiently waited all the time that he took. When the dark-haired man sucked in a long breath of air after his monologue, Shintaro opened his mouth to speak.

"Kazunari, don't worry about it. My parents will love to meet you, and we normally only do a small gift exchange."

Kazunari glanced up at him, giving him a short glare. "I don't have anything nice to wear. I don't wanna go in there with my jeans and sweatshirt--have you seen them?"

"Yes I have, and I agree. I'll take you shopping."

"No!" Kazunari pouted.

"No? Why not?" Shintaro frowned.

"You always buy me stuff! It's unfair for you to waste your money on me!" Kazunari emphasized his stubbornness with a short 'hmmph'.

"Kazunari, I come from an upper-middle class. It's not a problem, I promise you."

He knew he shouldn't have felt insulted, but Kazunari still felt a pit settle in his stomach at the mention of the social rankings. Shintaro immediately noticed and his eyes narrowed. "Kazunari, you know that isn't how I meant it."

"I know," Kazunari sighed. "We can go shopping, only if you promise not to waste your money on a Christmas gift."

"That sounds fair. Tomorrow morning, then."

Kazunari nodded and leaned further into his arms. "Tomorrow morning."

***

Kazunari rubbed his palms together as he waited for the bus. His new gloves really helped, though he had fought Shintaro not to get them ("You need to keep your hands warm for basketball season," Shintaro insisted stubbornly, and sneaked them into the pile of clothes when Kazunari wasn't looking). He stared down at his feet and breathed out, watching white puffs float up like smoke. Finally the bus pulled up and he shuffled on, pathetically one of four people on the bus on Christmas eve.

He sat near the back; the others on the bus seemed to all congregate towards the front, and he wasn't in the mood to make small talk about why he was lonely and on a bus on Christmas eve when he should be with his never-present family.

Of course, Kazunari still had hopes for his parents returning for Christmas. He'd left a note on the counter saying where he was going (even from the small visits they made, Kuzanari's parents had learned about Shintaro). He had a sliver of hope when his phone rang. However, when he pulled it out of his pocket, it was just Kise, who had found his number mysteriously. He probably had Shintaro to blame for that.

"Takao," the man muttered into the phone as to not disturb the others on the bus.

"Takaocchi! Merry Christmas!" Ryouta's bubbly voice made him want to reach through the phone and smack him.

"Yeah, yeah, Merry Christmas to you too," Kuzanari kept his voice down still.

"What are you doing for Christmas this year?"

"Spending it with a friend."

"Is that friend Midorimacchi?"

"...yeah."

"Aww! You two are so cute together! I'm spending my time with my man candy, too," Kazunari could almost see the man wink from beyond the phone screen.

"You mean Aomine?"

"Yup!"

"Oh, good for you," he tried to sound enthusiastic, but he just wasn't having it. "Alright, I need to go. This is my stop."

"Like the bus? Oh, Takaocchi! You need a car!"

"I know, I know," he sighed. "Goodbye. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas!"

Takao hung up and stood after the bus had jolted to a stop. "Next stop: to Midorimacchi's," he mumbled, rubbing his hands together and getting off the bus.

***

The walk was long and left Kuzanari's cheeks and nose a light pink when he finally made it to the large condo the Midorima household lived in. He had only been there once or twice, since it was so far from the school and Kuzanari's apartment was only a few blocks away. He knocked twice on the door and almost immediately it was answered by a middle-aged woman with green hair tied back with a ribbon. She didn't wear glasses, but her eyes looked identical to Shintaro's. "Shin-chan! He's here!" she called.

"M-my name is Kazunari," Kazunari tried to make a good impression on whoever this beautiful woman was. She smiled at him.

"I'm Shintaro's older sister, Haruhi. Shin-chan has told me so much about you."

"Don't call me Shin-chan," Shintaro huffed from the doorway. "I see you've met my sister. She calls me Shin-chan, too."

"I guessed that much," he chuckled. Haruhi stepped aside.

"Please, come in, Kazunari," she smiled. He nodded to her gratefully and stepped inside the modern condo. Shintaro was right there to lead him to the dining room, where a whole layout of Christmas foods awaited them.

***

After the meal, Kazunari sat around the fireplace with the rest of the Midorimas. Shintaro held him close, adding to the warmth from the fire, and Haruhi sat about a cushion away from them. Shintaro's parents occupied the loveseat. The whole atmosphere was very comfortable and warm, unlike what Kazunari had expected. They cracked jokes the whole evening.

At one point, Shintaro's mother's eyes lit up. "Oh my goodness, it's nearly Christmas!"

"It's been nearly Christmas for a while, mother," Shintaro mumbled, his ears going red in embarrassment.

"No, no! I mean that we need to do our gift exchange!"

Kazunari automatically looked up to Shintaro for an explanation. The man, in returned, held him a little tighter. "Mother likes to do the gift exchanges right on midnight Christmas day."

"That's a cute tradition," Kazunari commented with a bright smile.

"How about you, Kazunari? Do you have any traditions you'd like to share?" Shintaro's father asked heartily. Kazunari gulped quietly.

"Well, not exactly..."

"Father, please," Shintaro mumbled under his breath, hoping for his father to stop prodding. He took the hint and let it go.

"That's a shame," was his final comment.

"Maybe he can make some traditions with us," Haruhi suggested quietly and all eyes turned to her. Shintaro's face had matched the color of his ears, whereas all color had drained from Kazunari's face.

"Yes, that sounds quite nice," Shintaro's mother was the first to clear the heavy and awkward silence. His father mumbled his agreements.

Shintaro glanced down at his phone to check the time. "Mother, it's time."

Shintaro's mother clapped her hands excitedly. "That's great, great news! Haruhi, would you like to give your gifts first?"

Haruhi nodded and rose to her feet, grabbing a stack of neatly-wrapped presents. She distributed them and set them in each of her family member's laps, then placed one in Kazunari's. He looked up at her with a smile. "You didn't have to get me anything, really."

"Aww, but I had to!" Haruhi pouted. "Shin-chan's told me about your predicament. Just think of it as a small 'welcome to our home' present, okay?"

He looked back down at the present, almost unsure of what to do with it. By now the others had unwrapped their gifts and all eyes were focused on him. He carefully tore away the wrapping paper, setting it aside to clean up after he was done opening the present. He had gotten a small box and opened it with such care that he thought he might explode from anticipation. When he got the box open, however, he peeked inside like a little child.

Inside was an ornament and Kazunari felt his heart sink. "Thank you so much," he smiled at Haruhi, knowing well that he couldn't use such a beautiful gift. He had never really had a Christmas tree.

"It's a tradition that we'd like you to join with us," Shintaro piped in. "We hang a new ornament with a picture of our family every year on Christmas morning, and well..." he leaned over and grabbed the small box from the top of his pile of presents. "Open it."

Kazunari didn't waste a second opening the gift from him. His attention was so focused on opening the present quickly and carefully that he didn't notice Shintaro shift positions. The man was on his knee in front of him when he looked up from the ring in the box in his hand. "Takao Kuzanari, will you marry me?"

A sudden wave of tears overcame Kazunari and he hugged the man around the neck, his tears staining the nice shirt Shintaro was wearing. "Yes!" He repeated the word probably hundreds of times that evening, and the smile never left his face.

***

"Say cheese!"

Click.

Haruhi squealed happily. "This one's gonna be great! Okay, now a silly picture!"

"We already look ridiculous," Shintaro groaned, pawing at the ugly sweater that matched the rest of his family's. Of course his mother had gotten all of them, including Kazunari, an ugly sweater.

"Don't be so sour, Shin-chan. It's Christmas!" Kazunari smiled cheekily up at his fiance, then down at his ring. "This ring is so gorgeous..." he murmured, lost in thought.

"I picked it especially for you," Shintaro said with a sense of proudness that Kazunari couldn't help but peck him on the cheek.

"Thank you," Kazunari smiled. Before Haruhi could pester more about a silly picture, his phone rang. A picture of his mother lit up his phone and he answered it quickly. "Hello? Mother?"

"Merry Christmas, honey! When do you think you'll be getting home?"

"Ah, probably this afternoon."

"Good! Your father and I are waiting for you, please come over as soon as possible! We have a surprise for you! Oh, and you can bring Shintaro if you'd like!" With that, Kazunari's mother hung up.

***

"Have a Merry Christmas," Shintaro's mother sang as Kazunari and Shintaro left towards the garage.

"Thank you, and to you too!" Kazunari said back to her, throwing a wave over his shoulder as Shintaro grabbed the keys to the car off a hook on the wall. He hopped into the car and Shintaro as well, and they started off towards Kazunari's apartment. They kept up small talk in the car of how well Christmas had gone and what they thought the surprise was. Kazunari guessed that there was a bright blue bird, like the one he'd always asked Santa for as a child, but Shintaro claimed he doubted it. However, Kazunari noticed the smile on Shintaro's face.

***

"Merry Christmas!" Kazunari's mother and father chimed when they stepped inside. Kazunari's jaw dropped; the bland apartment was filled with festive lights, candles, and a Christmas tree to top it off. Shintaro's eyes widened as well.

"I hear we have a soon-to-be son-in-law," Kazunari's mother smiled warmly and hugged Shintaro. Shintaro, stunned, hugged back with a smile.

"Yes. I proposed last night," Kazunari noticed his ears going the slightest shade of red.

"Well, enough of that chat! Kazunari, we got you a present," Kazunari's father pointed under the tree, where a small box sat. He knelt down by the tree and tore open the present. When he finally got it opened, he couldn't help the smile that spread from ear to ear. He pulled out a stuffed blue bird as well as a bright blue sweater to match.

"See?! I knew they'd get me the blue bird!" Kazunari giggled and Shintaro laughed heartily, pulling Kazunari into a tight hug.

"Merry Christmas, love," Shintaro murmured into Kazunari's ear.  
FIN


End file.
